Contents
What is the 18650 Battery?
Fig 1: Different Sizes of Lithium-Ion batteries
First of all, the 18660 battery is a Lithium-ion battery that derives its name from its 18mm*65mm cylindrical dimensions. Thus, if you compare it to the AA size, you’ll realize that it has a larger diameter and height. It doesn’t serve as a replacement for the AAA and AA size cells.
These batteries are popular in high-current and rechargeable draining devices due to their high-level Lithium battery specifications. These include increased energy density and the 250+ charge cycle.
Its safety property, energy capacity, and high output current make it famous in the tech industry. The 18650 battery specification includes power, voltage, output current, charge-discharge cycle, output voltage, and much more.
It’s important to note that battery manufacturers subject some vital properties, e.g., capacity and charge-discharge cycles, to independent technologies. Without a doubt, these processes are meant to improve the batteries’ capabilities.
How to use an 18650 Battery?
Fig 2: Short Circuit
The 18650 cell is a Lithium battery, and hence, you should take very care of it. Primarily, that should include when discharging and charging it.
To begin, when discharging it, take extreme care to ensure you don’t use more than the C rating. In addition, you shouldn’t remove the battery below 3.0V.
Usually, it would help if you employed an electronic circuit to monitor the under-voltage value and the discharge current. It protects the battery by cutting it from the load if there’s a problem.
Also, it would help if you took care to ensure that the battery doesn’t experience any reverse polarity or short circuit. If you are working with the 18650 cells, we recommend using a battery protection module such as the TO4056. Here, it safely charges and discharges the cell.
Comparison of Key Parameters Between 18650 Battery and Current Popular Batteries
How to charge an 18650 Cell
Fig 3: Series vs. Parallel Electronic Circuitry
The charging voltage for the Li-Ion cells should be 4.2V. Also, experts recommend a charging current of 1A (0.5C).
Usually, you’ll have to connect 18650 batteries in parallel or in series to achieve higher voltages. In this case, you should take extreme care to maintain the batteries at the same voltage level.
Fig 4: Battery Management System (BMS)
Source: Google Creative Commons
That said, we refer to the process used to achieve this as cell balancing. And so, you can do this with a Battery Management System (BMS). The BMS discharges and charges the battery evenly, protecting it from possible problems.
Applications
Fig 5: Laptop Battery
In summary, as an engineer, you can use the 18650 battery in the following areas:
- Laptop batteries
- Power walls
- Electric vehicles
- Power bank
- Solar-powered devices
- Portable electronics
Conclusion
In conclusion, the 18650 cell has characteristics that stand out among its competitors. These include operating temperature, current carrying capacity, etc. Thus, it’s commonly used to create several battery types in power banks, electric vehicles, and much more with these properties. To protect this battery cell and increase the battery life, we recommend using a battery protection module.
That said, you can always contact us on our page if you have any queries!
